The Ultimate Model Rocket Sweepstakes!

A few days ago, George Sprague sent me some old model rocketry related ads to look at. One in particular caught my eye. It was this one:

Of course I was more than a little interested. I had never heard of this giveaway before, and I wondered who won and whatever happened to the replica? Does it still exist?

Enter "The Great and Mighty Google!" Without much effort I found out the following: 1. The winner was 13 year old Portland Oregon youth, Alen Hanshew. 2. He never really had it in his back yard or anything, since he immediately donated it to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The main issue seems to have been that there needed to be a rail dock at the delivery location, and not many houses have those (museums often do, though!). 3. Yes, it still exists, and can be visited! Here is a picture of it today:

For a more in depth look at the greatest rocketry related prize in forever, check out this link: http://comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2009/01/the-gemini-spacecraft-mystery-new-details.html

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!